PhotographyBanzai.com

We recently had a moderately sized meetup at a local garden. One of the photographers there also does videography and decided to put together a video featuring all of the photographers at the event.  The videographer is Charles R. and he goes by the handle “Hikikomorisama.” You can see more of his video work here .  EDIT: On the off chance cosplayers or photographers see this... know that you need permission, likely in the form of paid access to the garden. Especially true with a group. Over the years they had issues with this, so please respect the garden and its staff if you consider visiting with the intent of photography.  I was interviewed in the video.  Here is the photographer interview on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19nHd-NCtlQ Video created by Hikikomorisama. I’m featured around the 1 minute mark ( direct link to that time here ). Well done! I’ve tried a few convention scene related interviews in the past, but nothing with that level of pro...

Canon announced their new 6D full-frame camera body. You can see all of the detailed specifications here . You can see my article on the Nikon D600 here where I basically gave it a very positive outlook. While compromises were made with the D600, it still has enough from a value standpoint to be really appealing. The Canon 6D on the other hand has a suggested retail price of $2099 US, which is the same as the Nikon, however… Viewfinder coverage of 97% (D600 = 100%) Shutter speed maximum of 1/4000th (D600 is the same) Flash sync maximum of 1/180th (D600 = 1/200th max) While not an issue in practice, the 6D sensor has around 4 mega-pixels less than the D600. The 6D has a single SD card slot and the D600 has two. The 6D has wifi and GPS internally (nice, but this is a camera. I’d rather see the money go into a better viewfinder or something) AF system: 11 points Center: cross-type at f/5.6; vertical line-sensitive at f/2.8. Upper and lower AF points: vertical line-sensitive AF at f/5.6...

As I’m sure most of the people who read this site know, the Nikon D600 was announced recently. The simple fact you need to know is that it is an enthusiast level full-frame camera. Not only that, but the starting price of $2099 in the USA is the lowest a full-frame (FF) camera has been offered for from release (technically, the Sony A850 that bombed was $2000?). This camera is interesting enough to me that I felt compelled to write an opinion article on it. (stock image from nikonusa.com) What can we expect from a low cost full frame? We can expect a change in the entire game. The other companies will most likely follow suit and that should really change the landscape of digital photography. While there are, of course, used full-frame DSLR cameras below that price point, it still doesn’t open the gate like a new product can. I think 2013 will be the year that we see a wider audience have access to FF sized imaging sensor cameras, which I think is a great step. We are moving ba...

Pentax USA just recently offered a few rebates on their cameras and lenses. While I won’t go into the issues regarding fluctuating lens prices here (making the rebates utterly pointless), I will say a few of the camera bodies did see some decent price reductions. The Pentax 645D is only $8,799.95 now, a $1200 price reduction (It just so happens the 55mm f2.8 lens is $1200…). My guess is that they will be announcing a replacement this month at Photokina. 645D I had the pleasure of using one for a short time a few years ago. I was generally impressed with the camera, but even at that time saw a few issues that should have been better considering the level that camera is at. The thing was slow and didn’t have all of the features a normal 35mm SLR would have. Keep in mind the 645D was more targeted to this side of the market than it was to those ludicrously expensive medium format back and systems. While I’m not currently financially capable of owning one of these, it would be a gre...

The Pentax K-30 information was leaked.  K-30 looks pretty cool! Update: See official information on PentaxForums.com EDIT: Some updates for new information… Specifications so far I personally think are valid: Traditional digital SLR camera. 16 Mega-pixel sensor with video capabilities like the K-01 Weather resistant (Pentax WR). Uses AA or rechargeable batteries. Basically the same power system as the K-r. ISO range from 100 to 25600. Black, white, and blue body panels in the USA. 3-inch LCD like existing K-7/K-5/K-01 cameras. Dual scroll wheel operation. The shutter/mirror system appears to be from the K-r, so 6fps operation and 1/6000th maximum shutter speed (the negative being louder compared to the K-5’s). I personally like the rugged look, especial since I think it will be able to back up the claim. This will be one of the smallest large-sensor weather resistant cameras out there. The Olympus OM-D is probably the only real competition, but Pentax has it topped in affordable ...

Now that the K-01 is officially announced, here are my thoughts… They almost made something special, but not quite. I’ll go over details below. I’ll probably be editing this as more information becomes available. Edit, the PDF spec sheet on Pentax Forums confirms some things). Design: As I’m sure you already know, they contracted out a popular designer named Marc Newson to design the camera. They probably did this to generate media interest. I’m somewhat at odds with the final result because I see form trumping function in some aspects. I think the Pentax design crew might have done a better job. They did an amazing job on the K-7 and K-5… I don’t buy a camera as a fashion statement or a piece of art to be placed in a room and not used (take note of Marc’s “Lockheed Lounge” that is all form and no function). I think Marc is stuck in a position where he is expected to sacrifice some aspects to wow people. That’s t...

EDIT, my opinion of the camera here: http://photographybanzai.com/2012/02/02/my-thoughts-on-the-pentax-k-01/ In about 24 hours, we will find out what this new Pentax K-01 is all about. Until then, I’ve been trying to figure out what it might be like. You have tons of information on Pentax Forums . As well as places like here (Club Snap) and here . From Club Snap: They say that the only viewfinder is the 3 inch LCD as the K-5 and that the body design should be rugged. -“The camera body is compact and trim whilst preserving all the functions of a professional camera.” -“The materials convey quality and honesty.” -“Machined aluminum and rubber provide user with a tactile and durable piece of technology.” I’ll give it a +1 for mentioning professional camera and +1 for aluminum body. Maybe this will be to Pentax what the iPhone was to Apple? EDIT: It looks like the body casing is plastic, which is a negative in my opinion. I find it odd why P...

I noticed that the Youtube user Jetdaisuke posted a video about buying not one, but two Pentax Q cameras… While he is Japanese, he has English subtitles on most of his newer videos. If the subtitle (CC) button doesn’t show up, go directly to Youtube instead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQAIQKWsjs Pretty interesting. I never would have imagined seeing someone buy two of them considering their target market. However, I will admit their size is great for the sake of mobility. I’ll also say I thought in the past of attaching a camera to the top of my DSLR for recording video. In his case he is taking time lapse and video.

Impress Japan had an interview with many of the Japanese camera manufacturers and I thought I’d talk about that with some opinion included. My news and opinion in video format on Youtube : The full interview in Japanese: https://www.impressjapan.jp/pr/monitor/1112_dcm/271201_free.pdf Companies in the interview: Pentax, Ricoh, Canon Fujifilm, Nikon, Sigma, and Sony. Points of interest: Olympus: Eventual E-5 SLR replacement. Canon: Interested in small cameras, but not necessarily ones with interchangeable lenses. Has a focus on sensor sensitivity rather than mega-pixels (just look at the 1D X with its 18MP). Sigma: DP series additions coming. Mirror-less format lenses coming. Sony: Smaller e-mount lenses to better fit their mirror-less cameras. Talk of electronic shutters. Nikon: Replacements for the D3 and D700 coming. Compacts should have a focus on ergonomics and control to have more benefit over cell phone cameras. Fujifilm: Focus on high-end compacts like the x100 and x10. Impr...

As a zenfolio user, I receive email updates about new features they offer. Just recently they sent an email saying my account can now host video. The main reason I use their service is even though I know how to do programming, I wanted to have a gallery that looked great and was easy to use without much effort.  I liked their interface a lot more than other offerings so it was an easy choice. Beside the gallery ease of use and nice display format, being able to offer prints and other products was a big reason for a paid service too. I have been using Youtube for my video hosting, but I can see some benefit in using my Zenfolio powered gallery for some videos…

The full details can be seen on their site .  As well as a multitude of other sites . Nikon 1 I’ll throw in my two cents along with a few facts about the cameras. The first thing I noticed was this engadget photo showing the J1 next to a Sony e-mount camera and thinking to myself… It’s the same size, but Sony’s sensor is a lot larger. There is a little bad and good to be seen. While the new Nikons appear to be unappealing from a comparative size standpoint, their lenses should be smaller than most mirrorless systems out there (excluding the Pentax Q that has the smallest system and lenses). All that said, the Nikon might be slightly more pocket-able, but I’m not sure the smaller sensor is worth the very slightly smaller size. I’ll be curious to see how the image quality of the new Nikons stack up against the Pentax Q’s digicam sized sensor… The initial lens offerings seem very odd given the sensor size. The fastest is a prime at f2.8 and the slowest zoom is a f/4.5-5.6. You ...

It’s getting close to October. That was the month I started this site last year. While I’ve had a few different photography sites over the years, this one has been the largest by far in content and page visits. I thought it would be fun to show some stats about the site from October 23rd 2010 – August 2011, so basically 11 months of information from Google Analytics to go through. The site was linked up with Google Analytics on October 23rd 2010 and I have the stats spanning from then until today (August 26th 2011). The statistics through my webhost are a lot higher, but that’s due to Google filtering out all of the extras like search engine bots and anyone who opts out of Google Analytics (yeah, it is possible to opt-out). Visits: 17,279 Absolute Unique Visits: 13,987 Page Views: 26,765 Here is a graph of daily visits: The two large spikes were Otakon 2011 and Chicago Comic Con 2011. Showing the monthly stats shows a significant improvement most months. Without large conventions...

This article is out of date. You can find alternatives to Google Reader here . I started using Google’s web-based reader to stay current on web-blogs and sites related to photography online. I’ve never been one to frequently read blogs, but I’ve always spent a good deal of time reading up on the methods and science behind photography. I do recognize the merit individual photo bloggers bring to the table, so I plan on trying to assemble a list of interesting sites to read and stay current on. Not to mention it should be more efficient in the long run as I compile a quality list of content. If you have not tried Google Reader before, it is linked in the big platform they offer, which includes things like Docs and Gmail. I’ve been a big Yahoo Mail user for a good 15 years, so my Gmail address doesn’t get visited very often. However, since I switched over to an Android phone, I have started utilizing more of Googles services. Here is a screen shot: What Google's reader website looked l...